Hello gents and ladies. I would appreciate some advice from the experienced hands in the house.

I would like to start up a blog but i understand from experience that it is easy to waste time and money in this business. So i want to get it right this time.

Now lets assume:

1. Money is no object. I have the money to spend on making a decent blog. I have the writing skills, and i'm willing to hire writers and editors when the time for that comes.

2. Time is no object (to some extent). I'm willing to wait 6 months to break even.

3. I have a background in business and fitness.

To those who have experience, what would you say is the smartest niche to go into at this time, and what steps do i need to take to run a professional blog?

Your advice will be greatly appreciated, and i'm sure some others can learn from whatever you guys will have to say.

There are 5 basic things you need for a great blog

Quality Content (Even if you do copy and paste , add more information)
Social Spread (Buy or grow a active facebook page for engaging social spread)
Good domain name (easy to remember and related to your content)
SEO
Good Blog design (basically fast loading and easy to navigate)

That's the summary

For the niche, blog on what you have passion for so that updates will come naturally to you BUT then, no matter what niche you blog, if you have the cash, set up a general or entertainment blog alongside it can be useful

You can plan to set up 2 blogs, one for business and other on fitness.

Once you can write good stuffs, within 6 months, you will dedicated readers and get back your investment.

I am a professional web designer I can help you set up these 2 blogs with customized looks to your taste, and help you out with good SEO techniques to rake in traffic. Call/whatsapp me on 07030595988, lets talk further.

excanny:
You can plan to set up 2 blogs, one for business and other on fitness.

Once you can write good stuffs, within 6 months, you will dedicated readers and get back your investment.

I am a professional web designer I can help you set up these 2 blogs with customized looks to your taste, and help you out with good SEO techniques to rake in traffic. Call/whatsapp me on 07030595988, lets talk further.

Seen.

I may give you a call. But before that, if you don't mind, can you give myself and other interested readers an idea of what a good budget is for a very professional looking blog?

Both in terms of sunk costs and overheads.

Can you take a look at this blog: TechMatas.com?? Does it look professional to you? Creating a professional blog nowadays is not as expensive as it used to be unless if you want to go for some premium contents. It will cost you between N8000 to N15000 for a good webhosting service.

I encourage you to set up just one blog for now and make sure you grow it to a certain height before going into another. I can help you get it done exactly or more better than mine....but first search and read this article ....How I built a Successful Blog With little Capital

SmartyPants:


Seen.

I may give you a call. But before that, if you don't mind, can you give myself and other interested readers an idea of what a good budget is for a very professional looking blog?

Both in terms of sunk costs and overheads.

I can't disclose price details here, but there 3 price ranges I charge for blogs, depending on page speed, level of customization, provisions for monetization.

Since you are starting up, you may compromise on customization and personal ads, but never on page speed(no one is interested in wasting time opening your articles, this will put you in my mid-range charge).

opportunihub:
Can you take a look at this blog: TechMatas.com?? Does it look professional to you? Creating a professional blog nowadays is not as expensive as it used to be unless if you want to go for some premium contents. It will cost you between N8000 to N15000 for a good webhosting service.

I encourage you to set up just one blog for now and make sure you grow it to a certain height before going into another. I can help you get it done exactly or more better than mine....but first search and read this article ....How I built a Successful Blog With little Capital

Thanks. Reading the article at the moment...

excanny:


I can't disclose price details here, but there 3 price ranges I charge for blogs, depending on page speed, level of customization, provisions for monetization.

Since you are starting up, you may compromise on customization and personal ads, but never on page speed(no one is interested in wasting time opening your articles, this will put you in my mid-range charge).

Thanks for your contribution. When i am shopping for designers i will keep you in mind.

Things i would really appreciate some input on are:

1. How many articles should be produced daily?
2. What is the best length of article for SEO? Best length for human readers?
3. When to expect the earliest revenue if production is at a high level?
4. Possible monetization schemes
5. Full estimate of startup costs.
6. What can i do to beat the usually long period of time it takes to start making profits?

Thanks again.

SmartyPants:
Things i would really appreciate some input on are:
Thanks again.

It all depends on the niche you finally choose

1. How many articles should be produced daily?
Gen/Ent = min of 10 daily, Tech = min of 1 daily, Specialized eg health, fitness, legal etc = min of 1 in 3 days

2. What is the best length of article for SEO? Best length for human readers?
SEO requires at least 400 words with keyword density of 1% avg but for Gen/Ent you dont really need SEO, just a line with good images can get you good traffic from social media

3. When to expect the earliest revenue if production is at a high level?
Gen/Ent with active FB group/page = 1 month, Others = 6 months because most of traffic will be from search engines and you have to build your Domain Authority/SEO be able to rank well

4. Possible monetization schemes
Adsense, Adquet, affiliate marketing, sponsored posts (when you rank well in Alexa and have good traffic)

5. Full estimate of startup costs.
DomainKing and Whogohost hosting/domain = less than 10k
Foreign host like siteground = $50
In case of Gen/Ent, FB group or page is a must. Get a ready one for about 20k - 30k (>50k members/likes)
Design = na there we go chop your money

6. What can i do to beat the usually long period of time it takes to start making profits?
Nothing
Your main aim should be to satisfy your audience, once you do that, the profits come in
if you want to do like others, you will end up hung and dried and we will be seeing your next nairaland topic like "Fully design blog for sale with adsense"

BTW, Gen/Ent means General and Entertainment news blog

ITbomb:

It all depends on the niche you finally choose

1. How many articles should be produced daily?
Gen/Ent = min of 10 daily, Tech = min of 1 daily, Specialized eg health, fitness, legal etc = min of 1 in 3 days

2. What is the best length of article for SEO? Best length for human readers?
SEO requires at least 400 words with keyword density of 1% avg but for Gen/Ent you dont really need SEO, just a line with good images can get you good traffic from social media

3. When to expect the earliest revenue if production is at a high level?
Gen/Ent with active FB group/page = 1 month, Others = 6 months because most of traffic will be from search engines and you have to build your Domain Authority/SEO be able to rank well

4. Possible monetization schemes
Adsense, Adquet, affiliate marketing, sponsored posts (when you rank well in Alexa and have good traffic)

5. Full estimate of startup costs.
DomainKing and Whogohost hosting/domain = less than 10k
Foreign host like siteground = $50
In case of Gen/Ent, FB group or page is a must. Get a ready one for about 20k - 30k (>50k members/likes)
Design = na there we go chop your money

6. What can i do to beat the usually long period of time it takes to start making profits?
Nothing
Your main aim should be to satisfy your audience, once you do that, the profits come in
if you want to do like others, you will end up hung and dried and we will be seeing your next nairaland topic like "Fully design blog for sale with adsense"

BTW, Gen/Ent means General and Entertainment news blog

Thanks bruv... this is an extremely helpful response.

Are you a developer? How much do you usually charge for blogs?

For better SEO, one of the things you must do is design with valid markup codes. So if you want search engines to like your site, your blog must be written or customized by someone who understands his stuff, not some charlatans you commonly find around.

SmartyPants:
Hello gents and ladies. I would appreciate some advice from the experienced hands in the house.

I would like to start up a blog but i understand from experience that it is easy to waste time and money in this business. So i want to get it right this time.

Now lets assume:

1. Money is no object. I have the money to spend on making a decent blog. I have the writing skills, and i'm willing to hire writers and editors when the time for that comes.

2. Time is no object (to some extent). I'm willing to wait 6 months to break even.

3. I have a background in business and fitness.

To those who have experience, what would you say is the smartest niche to go into at this time, and what steps do i need to take to run a professional blog?

Your advice will be greatly appreciated, and i'm sure some others can learn from whatever you guys will have to say.

Wow.. I thought I wrote this lol.. This resonates so much with me when I set out to blog. Take a look at www.entmirror.com and tell me what you think. I don't mind connecting with you. At least, to help In any way I can. Including guiding you into blogging. Blogging entails lots of things, not just having the ability to write.

Wishing you good luck

SmartyPants:


Thanks bruv... this is an extremely helpful response.

Are you a developer? How much do you usually charge for blogs?

if you are on telegram, add me @ictunit

I charge only for design n SEO, you will choose your domain name and if on WP, handle your hosting wahala with your provider

ITbomb:

if you are on telegram, add me @ictunit

I charge only for design n SEO, you will choose your domain name and if on WP, handle your hosting wahala with your provider

Ait bro imma be in touch

EntMirror:


Wow.. I thought I wrote this lol.. This resonates so much with me when I set out to blog. Take a look at www.entmirror.com and tell me what you think. I don't mind connecting with you. At least, to help In any way I can. Including guiding you into blogging. Blogging entails lots of things, not just having the ability to write.

Wishing you good luck

I'd definitely love to connect with you coz I'm actually a fan of what you do on your blog

SmartyPants:


I'd definitely love to connect with you coz I'm actually a fan of what you do on your blog

I'm honored. Ping me on whatsapp let's connect
08167.970.969